The frequently neglected and often misunderstood relationship between classical test theory and item response theory is discussed for the unidimensional case with binary measures and no guessing. It is pointed out that popular item response models can be directly obtained from classical test theory-based models by accounting for the discrete…

The dimensional comparison theory (DCT) focuses on the effects of internal, dimensional comparisons (e.g., "How good am I in math compared to English?") on academic self-concepts with widespread consequences for students' self-evaluation, motivation, and behavioral choices. DCT is based on the internal/external frame of reference model…

Background/Context: This article explains the idea of a neopragmatic postmodernist test theory and offers some thoughts about what changing notions concerning the nature of and meanings assigned to knowledge imply for educational assessment, present and future. Purpose: Advances in the learning sciences--particularly situative and sociocognitive…

The validity of cognitive ability tests is often interpreted solely as a function of the cognitive abilities that these tests are supposed to measure, but other factors may be at play. The effects of test anxiety on the criterion related validity (CRV) of tests was the topic of a recent study by Reeve, Heggestad, and Lievens (2009) (Reeve, C. L.,…

Two different traditions of response-time (RT) modeling are reviewed: the tradition of distinct models for RTs and responses, and the tradition of model integration in which RTs are incorporated in response models or the other way around. Several conceptual issues underlying both traditions are made explicit and analyzed for their consequences. We…

The vast majority of measures have, at their core, a purpose of personal and social change. If test developers and users want measures to have personal and social consequences and impact, then it is critical to consider the consequences and side effects of measurement in the validation process itself. The consequential basis of test interpretation…

The purpose of this study is to validate a test anxiety scale for Italian students. The scale is part of a questionnaire administered after the students' annual competence test by the National Institute for the Educational Evaluation of Instruction and Training (INVALSI). The aim of the scale is to explore the anxiety levels of Italian students…

An adaptive testing method is presented that controls the speededness of a test using predictions of the test takers' response times on the candidate items in the pool. Two different types of predictions are investigated: posterior predictions given the actual response times on the items already administered and posterior predictions that use the…

Diagnostic assessment is currently an active research area in educational measurement. Literature related to diagnostic modeling has been in existence for several decades, but a great deal of research has been conducted within the last decade or so, especially within the last five years. The author summarizes the key components in the application…

The relationship between observable responses and the latent constructs they are purported to measure has received considerable attention recently, with particular focus on what has become known as formative measurement. This alternative to reflective measurement in the area of theory-testing research is examined in the context of the potential…

Several current international comparative large-scale assessments of educational achievement (ICLSA) make use of "Rasch models", to address functions essential for valid cross-cultural comparisons. From a historical perspective, ICLSA and Georg Rasch's "models for measurement" emerged at about the same time, half a century ago. However, the…

As with any test administered across linguistically and culturally diverse groups, evidence suggesting the equivalence of score meaning across countries is needed for valid comparisons. The current study examines the cross-cultural equivalence of score interpretations from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)-1999 from…

The theory of score validity has undergone several revisions within the measurement community. The current consensus among professionals is a rejection of the trinitarian doctrine (J. P. Guion, 1980) of score validity and the recognition of a unified view that includes social consequences of test interpretation and use. While some aspects of the…

The models of standard test theory, having evolved under a trait-oriented psychology, do not reflect the knowledge structures and the problem-solving strategies now seen as central to understanding performance and learning. In some applications, however, key qualitative distinctions among persons as to structures and strategies can be expressed…

Conditions under which interaction effects estimated from classical total scores, rather than item response theory trait scores, can be misleading are discussed with reference to analysis of variance (ANOVA). When no interaction effects exist on the true latent variable, spurious interaction effects can be observed from the total score scale. (SLD)